Operators of mobile networks, including networks that carry voice or data traffic related to mobile telephones or mobile computing devices, have a need to rapidly identify issues that affect the function of the mobile network. An issue that negatively affects the mobile network is network outage, such as a loss of coverage for an area of the mobile network. Loss of coverage can be caused by failure or poor functioning of a radio access node (also “radio,” “node,” or “RAN”), such as a radio that is providing coverage for an area of the mobile network. It is desirable for a mobile network operator to quickly detect issues on the mobile network and take corrective action, such as by dispatching technicians to fix a problem.
Current solutions for detecting issues include having radios report their current availability and loading, so the mobile network operator has information regarding which radios are up and running. In addition, mobile network operators may also use historical coverage information from radios to synthesize a coverage view of the network. For example, based on historical coverage information, a particular radio may provide coverage to a certain area. If the particular radio has a failure, the mobile network operator might infer that the area no longer has coverage. Alternatively, the mobile network operator might use historical coverage information from nearby radios to infer that the area has coverage, or partial coverage, from the nearby radios. If an issue affects only a single radio, the possibility of coverage or partial coverage can be assessed by looking at historical information of nearby cells to see if there is likely overlap in coverage.
However, if an issue affects multiple radios on a network, historical information regarding the affected radios may not provide an accurate estimation of their current coverage. For example, an ice storm may affect a large number of radios in an area. Some radios may cease functioning, and the mobile network operator may receive information regarding these failures. Other radios may continue functioning at a lesser level, such as if ice is covering antennae of the radios. The mobile network operator may receive information indicating that these radios are active, but may not receive information regarding the extent to which these radios are functioning or location information regarding the mobile devices served by these radios. The mobile network operator may have finite resources available to fix affected radios (e.g., limited number of technicians). It is desirable for the mobile network operator to have current information about radio functionality to generate an accurate coverage view and prioritize the order the radios should be fixed.
It is also desirable for a mobile network operator to receive current information from mobile devices and use it to determine coverage. It is further desirable for the mobile network operator to dynamically control the amount of information received from the mobile devices in order to balance the need for information with the impact of sending the information on the battery life of the mobile devices, the radio resources of the network, and the computing resources of the network.